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Ben Chilwell was still a teenager and yet to make his Leicester debut in the Premier League when Liverpool and Arsenal both made bids for him. Yet it is perhaps only now, at the age of 21, that we are finally seeing what all the fuss was about.

He was a key figure in the stirring victories over Spain and Croatia in the Uefa Nations League and it is a sign of his growing confidence that he is aiming to nail down that left-back spot for the next 10 years.

“It has all happened so fast. I’ve not had time to really step back and assess what was going on. After the Spain game it was only when I met up with my mum and dad and they said to me “I don’t think you understand how big a win that was’ that I took some of it in,” he says.

“I feel I’m having a great start to the season. I’ve been involved in all the games with Leicester and I always knew that I had my ability.

“To start games with England on top of that has been a massive confidence boost. The short-term aim is to keep playing well for Leicester and hopefully play well for England if I get the opportunity again soon.

“The long-term aim is obviously to be the first-choice left-back for ten years to come and be one of the best left-backs that England has ever had.”

It is that determination and drive which has enabled Chilwell to make such a breakthrough, after a summer of “minging running” around the parks of Milton Keynes in a bid to get himself in the best possible shape.

Chilwell has been compared with Gareth Bale for his attacking ability from left-backCredit:
Getty images

He returned for pre-season on a mission to make an impact but even he cannot have envisaged his progress. Equally comfortable going forward or playing in defence, he has been compared to Gareth Bale by former England under-21 team-mate Jack Grealish.

He has only five caps for England so far, but already looks as if he has been playing there for years. His emergence at Leicester has also been startling, a world away from games such as Everton away last season in which he admits he felt "frustrated" at being at fault for goals.

Chilwell epitomises England’s future under Southgate, and is at the core of Leicester’s emerging, young squad.

“If I look back four years, I would have been terrified to step up into the England set-up but it’s been very easy,” he says. “I know the majority of the squad from the 21s or playing against them. It is a lot of young players wanting to play football the same way, an ambitious manager, in a very relaxed environment.

“It’s very similar at Leicester and in the first game at Manchester United there were five of us aged 21. I remember talking to Dimi [Demarai Gray] and Madders [James Maddison] in the hotel before the game about how we were just itching to have a good game - if we can start well, we can build on it.

“A lot of credit goes to the manager [Puel] because he could have easily played more reliable players who maybe wouldn't make a mistake. He wanted to choose the younger players who could create something exciting going forward."

Leicester has been Chilwell’s club since the age of 12 and he credits his parents, Wayne and Sally, academy coaches and a loan spell at Huddersfield under David Wagner towards the end of 2015 as crucial.

Chilwell has played every minute for Leicester this seasonCredit:
Getty images

Yet it could easily have been different. Chilwell almost chose cricket bats over boots at the age of 15, when he feared Leicester would release him. A place in the Northants academy and trials with England presented a dilemma.

“There was 100 per cent a choice, maybe I was even a better cricketer than footballer," he admits. “I was an all-rounder but more of a batsman, maybe second-choice bowler.

“But when I started playing men’s cricket I stopped enjoying it. They were long days. 50-over games, with men 15 years older you don’t really have anything in common with. They were all talking about going to the pub.

“I was enjoying my football, even though it wasn’t really going well. That’s when I said to my dad, who as a New Zealander was very keen on me playing cricket, that I would choose football.”

Chilwell’s cricketing ability was revealed earlier this week on social media when a video emerged of him ruthlessly dispatching a Marc Albrighton full-toss, as a few Leicester players relaxed after a recovery session.

“Kasper [Schmeichel] was behind the stumps, the wicketkeeper chirping in my ear, giving me a bit,” he smiles. “Dimi was in the field, you don’t want to see him bowling. Wilfred [Ndidi] was the same. Madders was good, though, to be fair…”

If Chilwell presents a picture of contentment on an otherwise grey midwinter day at Leicester's training ground, there is another cloud hanging over him and the club which will take time to disperse.

It is nearly two months since the helicopter crash which claimed the life of Leicester's beloved owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other passengers outside the King Power Stadium. It was a tragedy which left a club and a city devastated, an unwanted reminder of how fragile life can be, two years after that remarkable title win.

“Vichai was such a good guy. He was always in the dressing room, always having a laugh with us," says Chilwell. “I remember when I went away with England last month, Harry Winks told me a story that [Heung-min] Son was in a London restaurant and Vichai was there as well.

“At the end of Son's meal he'd gone to pay his bill and Vichai had paid for everyone in the restaurant. I think that alone shows the person he was.

“Looking back now, it's brought us together as a family so much more. We're not just teammates now. I'd say the bond in that dressing room now is something that we're probably never going to experience again. A tragedy like that has really brought us together so much.”

Vichai’s memory is driving Chilwell, and Leicester, on towards the ambition for this season and beyond.

“We want to keep pushing forward and achieve what he would have wanted, which is to be playing in Europe. I think that's the ultimate, to be consistently one of the best teams in the country and over the next few years that's going to be our aim to try and do that,” he said.

“The position we are in at the moment in the table [ninth] is quite realistic. We are aiming for seventh.

“We know what Vichai's dreams and ambitions were for the club, it's up to us now to make them happen.”